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Kansas City’s Tech Hub

Kansas City’s tech industry employs more than 38,000 professionals at 3,500 firms and boasts 17 regional university and community college tech programs, all at the “crossroads of all the nation’s fiber.” Some of the KC region’s leading creative tech professionals are gaining national notoriety as well, landing them among the individuals featured in the America’s Creative Crossroads lifestyle campaign.

Entrepreneur Davyeon Ross is the co-founder of ShotTracker, an app that tracks basketball shot attempts, makes and misses through a wearable sensor. Before ShotTracker, Davyeon founded interactive technology company, Digital Sports VENTURES, which sold to Digital Broadcasting Group in 2011. Check out his CreativeKC profile video.

Siblings and co-founders of FitBark, Sara and Davide Rossi created a technology to keep humans and dogs active together. FitBark is an activity monitor that tracks dog’s sleep patterns and activity to keep them healthy. FitBark has been featured on many news outlets, including Rachael Ray, NBC News, The New York Times and more.

Tracy Panko is the CEO of Spiral16, an internet marketing service in Overland Park. Spiral16 turns data into valuable business intelligence for companies through social media and web analysis.

Shaul Jolles, co-founder of OfficePort, a co-working business center, focuses on the technology industry by founding various innovative startups and startup incubators around the nation. He has received national awards for his unique concepts.

Google Community Manager Rachel Hack Merlo serves as a liaison between KC organizations and leaders with an interest in Google Fiber and the rest of the Google Fiber team. In 2011, Google Fiber chose KC over 1,100 other communities to be the pilot market.

Mike Farmer has covered a lot of success through is entrepreneurial career, including leading the development of a 10-year, $600 million technology-based economic development initiative.

Multimedia Art Director, Michael Ong, started at Hallmark leading the team that delivers technology-driven digital content beyond the traditional ink-on-paper greeting before becoming studio manager and then art director of the video team.